Chapter 242: The Rules Set by the Strong

After saying that, the man in the white suit saw that no one answered him, yet he did not look embarrassed at all. He simply smiled to himself and continued.

"I believe many of you already know that one of the strange existences in this Dungeon can parasitize a Player’s body. There is no way to tell from the outside. Once parasitized, that thing can use everything the original Player possessed, including items and equipment from their inventory. Their vitality is also abnormally tough. Unless the host body is completely crushed and the fleshy tentacles hidden inside are forced to detach, they will not stop moving."

As soon as those words fell, several Players who had not known about this immediately turned grim. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"However, it seems that only Players who are alone during the period when the carpet turns red will be parasitized. So, in theory, everyone here should be fine."

At that point, the man in the white suit paused and looked toward Asagiri, smiling warmly.

"So, my personal suggestion is this. We assign floors to one another and ensure that each floor has at least one strong team capable of killing a parasitized Player. That way, we can prevent an entire floor from being overrun. What do you all think?"

Although he seemed to be asking for everyone’s opinion, the direction of his gaze made it clear that what he truly wanted was Asagiri’s answer.

Everyone present noticed that detail. They also vaguely sensed that Asagiri and his group were not ordinary Players, so one by one, they remained silent and simply waited.

"We want the Seventh Floor."

Asagiri stated his choice without hesitation.

A few Players showed displeasure, but none of them spoke up. Those who had made it this far were not fools. For the moment, aside from room types, there was no essential difference between floors. There was no need to make an enemy over something so minor.

"The Seventh Floor? Fine."

The man in the white suit nodded, then turned to the others and began asking for their choices.

Ten minutes later, the teams had roughly settled their assignments, from the Fifth Floor to the Thirteenth Floor. Some floors even had two teams stationed there, since the teams assigned to them were not especially strong.

"It only goes up to the Thirteenth Floor?"

The man in the white suit swept his gaze over the room and asked,

"Does anyone know the full layout of this Hotel?"

Silence filled the restaurant.

After all, no one had been here before. Many Players had not even left their rooms after entering the Dungeon. Once the first dangerous period with the red carpet ended, they had gone straight to the buffet restaurant on the Third Floor. Naturally, they had learned nothing useful.

At that moment, Asagiri spoke.

"This Hotel has thirty three floors in total. The first floor is the lobby and security control room. The second floor is the cafe. The Third Floor needs no introduction, since we’re in the buffet restaurant right now. The fourth floor contains executive meeting rooms for Hotel guests. Floors five through twenty two are guest room floors. The twenty Third Floor is the fitness area and swimming pool. The Twenty fourth Floor is the banquet hall. Floors twenty Five through thirty two are luxury suites. The thirty Third Floor is the rooftop bar, and there is a rooftop above that."

The man in the white suit stared for a moment, then asked curiously,

"Sir, have you been here before?"

"Yes."

Asagiri did not hide it. He glanced across the gathered Players and spoke in an even tone.

"Everyone here has already cleared several Dungeons. You all know the basic principle. We cannot waste time and energy fighting each other. Our enemies are the parasitized Players. If we can eliminate them while minimizing serious casualties among normal Players, we will avoid falling into a numerical disadvantage. Suspicion and distrust are inevitable, but at the very least, we should share the information we obtain."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"So I hope we can establish one consensus right now. Any Player who deliberately conceals information they have discovered, or behaves suspiciously, will be treated as a parasite and eliminated."

"Agreed."

The man in the white suit immediately gave his approval.

The other Player teams looked at him, then at Asagiri. Seeing that the two strongest seeming figures in the room had reached an agreement, they thought it over and followed suit one after another.

"Alright. Since everyone agrees, we move on to the next point."

Without anyone noticing, the center of this meeting had already shifted to Asagiri.

No one objected. He was clearly strong, and more importantly, he had provided critical information about the Hotel’s layout. Logically speaking, that also made him the least suspicious person in the room. A parasite would not casually reveal something that valuable.

"Players on every floor must be registered. After every dangerous period when the carpet turns red ends, and before the free investigation phase is over, all Players must come to the Third Floor for roll call. If anyone on a floor dies or disappears, then every Player assigned to that floor will be questioned and investigated. Does anyone object?"

A male Player frowned and asked,

"Wait. Before the free investigation phase ends? Isn’t the safe period just the time before the carpet turns red? We can’t waste time gathering here every time when we still need to return to our rooms before danger starts, can we?"

Asagiri replied calmly,

"That is why we need to set a fixed time for free investigation. Once that time ends, everyone must return to their rooms on their own floor, even if there are no signs yet that the carpet is about to turn red."

The male Player hesitated.

"But if we do that, won’t we waste a lot of safe time? Is there really a need to go that far...?"

"How stupid."

Before he could finish, Iwanaga Kotoko cut in impatiently.

"Have you still not understood what our Leader means? He means that even if a Player stays in their room during the dangerous period, even if they are not alone, they may still die. That is why we need this system of investigation. Got it?"

"What?"

A wave of shock spread through the room.

"How is that possible? The public hint said that as long as we avoid acting alone..."

"Does the public hint say that as long as you don’t act alone, you are absolutely safe?" Iwanaga Kotoko interrupted coldly. "How did you even survive long enough to reach this stage?"

She tapped the table once with her cane.

"The hint only tells you that being alone is dangerous. It never says that avoiding solitude guarantees safety. Think for even one second. Do you really believe a Third Floor Dungeon would be that simple? Normal Players cannot leave their rooms during the dangerous period. Fine. But what about the parasitized ones? Can you guarantee they cannot?"

The room fell silent.

"Then it’s settled."

Asagiri’s voice remained calm, but his attitude was absolute.

"We have already explained the reason for this rule. Anyone unwilling to comply will be treated as an enemy and eliminated by me and my teammates."

Under that pressure, no one spoke up again.

A few Players, including the man in the white suit, even looked at Asagiri with faint admiration.

This was a Third Floor Dungeon, where a single mistake could mean total annihilation. At a time like this, there was no point wasting time on endless debate.

The strong make the rules.

Those who do not wish to become their enemies can only obey.

...

Once the two rules had been established, the man in the white suit finally regained a bit of presence.

He had his teammates distribute the supplies they had gathered from the buffet restaurant, including bread and bottled water, to the representatives of each floor. Those representatives then carried them back for distribution among their floor’s Players.

Naturally, there was nowhere near enough for everyone.

But precisely because supplies were limited, they had to be distributed this way.

The stronger teams had to be prioritized.

After all, strong Player teams were far less likely to be parasitized than ordinary ones. If a powerful team fell, ordinary Players would have no way to stop them. But if a weak Player was parasitized, the strong teams could still suppress them.

Before everyone split up, they also counted the number of Players on each floor.

From the Fifth Floor to the Thirteenth Floor, there were one hundred and thirty six Players in total.

As for the floors above that, there seemed to be no one there.

That number, one hundred and thirty six, was completely different from the last time Asagiri, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yuuki Asuna had entered this Hotel, when there had been only five Players in total.

Iwanaga Kotoko noticed that as well.

After returning to Room 7012 and locking the door behind them, she sank into thought at once.

"Logically, as the total number of Players decreases, the number assigned to each Dungeon should also decrease... But this time, one hundred and thirty six people were thrown into the same Dungeon. Is that a trait unique to the third stage...? This is too strange..."

.....

[If you don’t want to wait for the next update, read 50 Chapters ahead on P@treon.]

[[email protected]/FanficLord03]